Nine Cars We Never Expected These Companies to Build

We're not going to pretend we don't understand why Aston Martin tried selling the Cygnet. When you feel like there's a gun to your head, you'll do some crazy stuff, and Aston clearly felt like environmental regulators were doing just that. Still, let's not pretend that rebadging a Toyota iQ makes much sense for a British company that says it builds the most beautiful cars in the world.

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Cadillac Escalade EXT

In hindsight, Cadillac's decision to build the Escalade was a great one. It sells so well that it's the only vehicle in Cadillac's lineup that isn't being given a "CT" or "XT" name. Still, back in 1999, it was quite a departure for the brand. Heck, at that point, it was still selling the Eldorado. But the real craziness took over in 2002 when Cadillac introduced an SUV/pickup hybrid—the Escalade EXT.

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Ferrari

Ferrari FF

Yes, Ferrari is known for its racing success and its sports cars, but it's also known for building grand tourers. The fact that the FF is a grand tourer isn't the surprise here. The fact that it seats four isn't surprising either. What is surprising is everything else about the FF. It's a three-door shooting brake with all-wheel drive. In what world does Ferrari build all-wheel drive hatchbacks?

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Hyundai Genesis

If you had told us back in 2009 that Hyundai would be creating a luxury brand called Genesis, we would have said that made sense. Honda had Acura, Toyota had Lexus, and even Nissan had Infiniti. Considering how ambitious Hyundai had been in the years prior, launching a luxury brand would have made sense. Instead, the company that sold one of the least-expensive cars in the world decided to sell a luxury sedan under its own name. But unlike Volkswagen with the Phaeton, Hyundai's decision actually worked.

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Jeep

Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT

When you think of Jeeps, you tend to think of YJs outfitted to conquer the Rubicon Trail and XJs that can conquer the worst Moab has to offer. What you usually don't think of is something with zero off-roading intentions whatsoever. And yet Jeep built just such a vehicle when in turned the Grand Cherokee into a hot rod. Even crazier, Jeep is reportedly building a Hellcat version of the Grand Cherokee.

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Land Rover

Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR

Range Rovers are awesome. They're basically luxury cars you can drive through the jungle. You can also get supercharged Range Rovers that are extremely fast luxury cars you can still drive through the jungle. Despite being generally awesome, what Range Rovers were never very good at was going around corners. That changed when Land Rover introduced the Range Rover Sport SVR, which lapped the Nurburgring in eight minutes and 14 seconds. That's faster than a Porsche Cayman S or a BMW 1M Coupe.

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Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz R-Class

Technically the Mercedes-Benz R-Class is not a minivan. It doesn't have sliding rear doors, so it's actually a crossover SUV. But technicalities aside, the R-Class is a Mercedes minivan. We can begrudgingly accept that luxury SUVs are a necessity these days, but the R-Class still has us scratching our heads. What's even crazier is that AMG decided to do a version of the R-Class, which resulted in the 500-horsepower R63 AMG.

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Porsche Cayenne

Porsche is no stranger to experimentation. The 911 is iconic, but it's also built grand tourers, roadsters, and even front-engine sports cars. Still, it's always been a sports car company. That made 2002 a huge year for Porsche because it introduced its first SUV, a move made to provide financial stability for the future of the sports car brand. Compared to other SUVs, the Cayenne handled better and could be ordered with a manual transmission, but it was still a Porsche SUV. Crazy enough, it was so successful, Porsche has since expanded its offerings to become a full-line manufacturer.

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Subaru

Subaru BRZ

We like the little BRZ. Some people are a little disappointed there's never been a factory turbocharged version, but even with only 200 horsepower, it's still a blast to drive. But who would have thought Subaru would sell a naturally aspirated rear-wheel drive sports car on a lot next to a lineup full of all-wheel drive cars? The great thing is, being rear-wheel drive hasn't stopped people from turning BRZs into rally cars.

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